Adjusting a meanwell and dimming stuff

[Jman785]

So if I hook up 10v to the meanwell eln6048d dimming wires, it will run at 100%? So the pot goes in between the 10v wall wart and the dimming wires correct to be able to dim?

 

I've scanned thru all the threads and can't find what I'm looking for as far as adjusting the internal parts on the drivers.

 

How do you setup the meanwell's as far mA go?? Like dialing the inside knobs down. I'll have 13 XPG and 13 XPE RB on each of my meanwells.

 

I forgot to mention the pot I bought was a 5K and I guess I'll try to find some 10V wall warts or a variable one that can be adjusted.

 

Sorry if this is asked all the time, I just got so lost in some of the Arduino threads and the Meanwell thread which seemed to focus more on the P models.

[evilc66]

This has been explained before in the Meanwell thread.

 

You won't want a 10v power supply. Beyond the fact that they are harder to find than 12v supplies, they also don't always put out the voltage that is advertized. You would be better going with a 12v power supply and regulating the voltage down with an LM317 voltage regulator. The way that circuit is built will allow you to use a potentiometer in the circuit to adjust the voltage from about 1.25v to 10v to get your full range of dimming.

 

For adjusting the output current (SVR2), you need to wire in a multimeter in series to the LEDs. Just add it like it was another LED. Set the meter to read amps, and put the leads in the right ports. You want to set the max output to 1000mA (with 10v to the dimming input). There is no need to adjust SVR1 with your setup. Once you are done, just remove the meter and hook everything back up like normal.

[Jman785]

I know this has been answered...but I found this and it seems easier than making the LM317.

 

Get a 12VDC "wall wart" Get a large potentiometer ( variable resistor with a knob ).

 

It can be anywhere from 1000 Ohms to 100,000 ohms ( 1K to 100K ).

 

Hook the high side of the Pot ( either end ) to +12VDC.

Hook the low side of the Pot ( opposite end from above ) to 12V RTN/GND.

Also hook this line ( 12V RTN/GND ) to the Dim- line ( White on the Meanwell )

 

NOW take the "wiper" of the Pot ( this is the part that adjusts ) and hook it to the Dim+ line of the Meanwell ( Blue )

 

Remember to turn down the internal current adjust before trying it and you need to know how to measure the current through the LED string to adjust. I use a DMM in current mode & I adjust my max current to 700mA.

 

Then you can experiment with the Dim knob (CAREFULLY) until the max on the knob corresponds to the max current through the LED string.

 

The spec sheet of the Meanwell does not state the absolute maximum voltage that can be applied to the Dim+ Pin, so I would advise you to not just "turn it all the way up" with the above design as you could apply 12VDC to the Dim+ pin.

 

My guess is that it wont care, but I wont guarantee it.

 

Why not do it this way? Seems fool proof.

[evilc66]

Completely not fool proof. I'll bet good money that you will damage the dimming circuit on the Meanwell if you put 12v to it, which will be as easy as one slip on the pot, and it will make the driver useless. The LM317 circuit has a hard limit around 10v. The driver cannot tollerate much more than that. The quote makes it sound like the current output is the issue, but it's the input voltage that you need to be most concerned with.

 

The LM317 circuit is not hard to build, and only involves 4 parts.

[Jman785]

Completely not fool proof. I'll bet good money that you will damage the dimming circuit on the Meanwell if you put 12v to it, which will be as easy as one slip on the pot, and it will make the driver useless. The LM317 circuit has a hard limit around 10v. The driver cannot tollerate much more than that. The quote makes it sound like the current output is the issue, but it's the input voltage that you need to be most concerned with.

 

The LM317 circuit is not hard to build, and only involves 4 parts.

 

Reading the circuit involves more than 4 parts for someone that knows nothing about circuitry. I mean it would be a good thing for Nano-Tuners or RapidLED to sell circuits ready to go for idiot proof DIY kits.

[Jman785]

For people that want to use a 12 volt wall wart and pot...you can just put a resistor in between the PS and the pot. I talked to some folks about it at work and then found more stuff on RC here:

 

If you are using more than 12 Volts and you are worried about the dim pins having more than 10volts,

 

Put a 2kOhm resistor in series with the 10k Pot.

 

If the 2K is hooked right to the 12 Volts and then the 10k is below that, you will drop 2 volts across the 2k.

That leaves 10 volts to drop across the 10k Pot.

 

Attach wiper pin of the 10k Pot to the meanwell Dim+ pin and you cannot apply more than 10 volts.

 

If you want to use a 5k pot, use a 1K resistor at the top and it will work the same.

 

Or you can do the LM317 circuit as Evil stated above.

[evilc66]

Reading the circuit involves more than 4 parts for someone that knows nothing about circuitry. I mean it would be a good thing for Nano-Tuners or RapidLED to sell circuits ready to go for idiot proof DIY kits.

 

At a minimum, it really is only 4 parts: two resistors, the LM317, and a pot.

 

Take a look at this

 

 

 

There are a few capacitors that are added to additional noise filtering, but could be left out if you want to reduce the part count.

 

Using a 2K resistor to drop 2v is assuming that the power supply is actually outputing 12v. Many cheap 12v wall warts output as high as 16v, and the resistor now drops a little over 2v, but now the max voltage is over 13v, and will damage the driver. If you kill the dimming circuit, the driver is useless.

 

Honestly, if you are tackling a DIY LED array, this is no harder to assemble.

[Jman785]

At a minimum, it really is only 4 parts: two resistors, the LM317, and a pot.

 

Take a look at this

 

 

 

There are a few capacitors that are added to additional noise filtering, but could be left out if you want to reduce the part count.

 

Using a 2K resistor to drop 2v is assuming that the power supply is actually outputing 12v. Many cheap 12v wall warts output as high as 16v, and the resistor now drops a little over 2v, but now the max voltage is over 13v, and will damage the driver. If you kill the dimming circuit, the driver is useless.

 

Honestly, if you are tackling a DIY LED array, this is no harder to assemble.

 

Evil,

 

To support your diagram and help out people like me...why not making a video of you assembling such circuitry? I mean I really don't understand a lot about assembling a circuit such as that.

 

- J

[hllywd]

 

Thanks evil... that makes it easy for me. Can I find the perforated breadboards at RS? Also is there a reason not to run two of these from a single wall wart to control, 4 or 8 Meanwells?

 

Thanks,

Tim

[evilc66]

Every last part you need, including the perfboard is at RS. You can run multiple circuits off a single supply, and multiple Meanwells off each circuit.

 

Evil,

 

To support your diagram and help out people like me...why not making a video of you assembling such circuitry? I mean I really don't understand a lot about assembling a circuit such as that.

 

- J

 

Maybe, but my free time right now is limited. Plus I don't have a video camera. Only my wifes P&S that does video, and I'm sure that will be horrible.